Lots of money saved this year. No exclusives, and a few nights hotel costs saved also since I don't expect to see anything of interest at any DC or Mattel panels ... the things I've enjoyed most the past few years. It's the weekend only for me this year.

I do agree though that Vykron is the perfect SDCC offering ... 3 looks for 3 decades and a character that diehard fans don't have to get crazed for.

The Tiny Titans are cute and I plan to get them but part of me wishes that they'd gone the DC Nation route and done the new teen titans from the shorts in this format/scale.

Stactions are an intesting idea, but I have a feeling that they'll stumble quickly like Hasbro's Star Wars Unleased figures, especially if being done at retail. I'm sure Death got the SDCC slot because it was probably the only way WBCP/DC would let them do a Vertigo character.

Will be interested to see what the Mater set looks like in action, sounds like there's an awful lot that's going to be packed into that little box...

The Polly Pocket set is another win for that line, even if they aren't articulated, though Harley could use some clown white on her face (hopefully that change has been/is being made).

Dana... hmmm?... have to wonder if she was coming in over cost and that's how she ended up an exclusive or if perhaps they're adding one more figure to the line up (if so I would bet on another courtroom 'buster with the other Scollari brother).

As for Monster High, I have to wonder if it isn't going to be their April Fool's joke, Invisi-Billy... Same concept as the Invisible Jet and the "joke" box they showed certainly looked like a production box...

Ok so we are getting a Dark Knight Movie Masters item. But the other DC product baffles me. I thought SDCC was for collectors? Unless you are a 5 year old girl, I don't see why you would be interested in the Tiny Titans / Polly Pocket stuff. And the Death figure looks nice, but doesn't really fit in to any line.

Another head scratcher is the fact that there is all of this unreleased Young Justice product that could have been released as a final set at SDCC. Maybe the plan is to release it on Matty, but I know there are a lot of fans that would have enjoyed that more than toys targeted to infants.

Maybe it’s just me, but with the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives Mattel revealed yesterday, I am starting to think they are losing touch with their core market for their collector-oriented lines – the little boys that grew up with toys from He-Man and DC Comics and now have a strong nostalgic pull toward their grown-up versions. I understand the Cars, the Tiny Titans and the Polly Pockets – those same guys now have little boys and girls of their own, and SDCC has become a family event. But the rest seem odd or somehow miss the mark.

Take the Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron, for example. This three-in-one exclusive takes the three prototypes that Mattel designer Roger Sweet originally presented to the executives before getting the green light for the original Masters line – and turns them into actual toys. That’s a very nice nod to the creator of Masters, but there’s a reason why the barbarian won out while the others got shelved. As with any commercial endeavor, there’s a creative process that takes the raw ideas, weeds out the weaker ones, and hones the winners into products with mass appeal. With Vykron, Mattel is trying to transform preliminary concepts that didn’t benefit from this process (even the barbarian) – and ended up with a mash mash of parts that I don’t think work well together. Aren’t you glad Mattel ditched the Devo hat before Masters hit shelves for the first time? I think Vykron is one that will appeal mostly to a limited number of hardcore MOTU fans that elevated their fandom to the point where they became MOTU historians.

Between this and the 30th Anniversary series of figures created by Toy Guru, the Four Horsemen, Geoff Johns and the like, I’m getting the feeling that the creators of the toys are becoming more important than the toys themselves. I would have rather Mattel offered something less self-congratulatory and more appealing to the broader collectors. For instance, why not someone like Ram Man?

Maybe it’s just me, but with the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives Mattel revealed yesterday, I am starting to think they are losing touch with their core market for their collector-oriented lines – the little boys that grew up with toys from He-Man and DC Comics and now have a strong nostalgic pull toward their grown-up versions. I understand the Cars, the Tiny Titans and the Polly Pockets – those same guys now have little boys and girls of their own, and SDCC has become a family event. But the rest seem odd or somehow miss the mark.

Take the Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron, for example. This three-in-one exclusive takes the three prototypes that Mattel designer Roger Sweet originally presented to the executives before getting the green light for the original Masters line – and turns them into actual toys. That’s a very nice nod to the creator of Masters, but there’s a reason why the barbarian won out while the others got shelved. As with any commercial endeavor, there’s a creative process that takes the raw ideas, weeds out the weaker ones, and hones the winners into products with mass appeal. With Vykron, Mattel is trying to transform preliminary concepts that didn’t benefit from this process (even the barbarian) – and ended up with a mash mash of parts that I don’t think work well together. Aren’t you glad Mattel ditched the Devo hat before Masters hit shelves for the first time? I think Vykron is one that will appeal mostly to a limited number of hardcore MOTU fans that elevated their fandom to the point where they became MOTU historians.

Between this and the 30th Anniversary series of figures created by Toy Guru, the Four Horsemen, Geoff Johns and the like, I’m getting the feeling that the creators of the toys are becoming more important than the toys themselves. I would have rather Mattel offered something less self-congratulatory and more appealing to the broader collectors. For instance, why not someone like Ram Man?

I think if this were a secondary exclusive, like Mo-Larr was, it would be a rave. I think the problem is that it's the MAIN MOTU exclusive. If I were Mattel, I'd take one of the next unannounced figures from the line up this year, and make it a SDCC exclusive to go along with this one. LOL

_________________JLU Forever! And is MOTUC EVER getting around to Ram Man?

Probably nothing for me as I'm a DC 6" and Action League fan. You kind of get the feeling that Mattel just doesn't want us to give them money any more. Have I been collecting figures in the wrong way, or done something else to upset the guys at the decision-making end? I wish they'd tell me what I (or we) did to deserve the repeated crotch-kicking. The 2012 sub isn't the line being "alive and well", it's a death rattle if there's nothing at retail. Most toy-buyers won't sit around for another year if there's nothing on the shelves.

I love the Sandman, but I'd want some assurances that we'll get the whole Endless family. Mattel's track record for giving me full teams is 0-2 at the moment (Miss Martian for YJ, Wally West, Conner Hawke & Kyle Rayner/Saint Walker, Indigo 1 & Larfleeze/the list could go on for DCUC).

The other thing is, DC Direct/Collectibles are already doing a 9" Ame-Comi line which I'm quite drawn to. Death is certainly within their wheelhouse, even if ti would be a different style.